Harp of Erin Round 4 Match Reports

Harp of Erin Round 4 Match Reports

This round’s Match Reports are brought to you by The Harp of Erin.

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1ST XI

BTCC 195 def Forest Hill 180 at Ted Ajani Reserve.

J Berry 87, N Sopariwala 4/44, M Amor 2/22, D Mahawatte 2/40

A tough challenge presented itself against reigning premiers and undefeated ladder leaders Forest Hill. After winning the toss and electing to bat in good conditions our openers Yaz (13) and Marcus (21) started slowly and steady to give us a good platform but unfortunately both openers fell in quick succession which saw Forest Hill take the momentum heading into tea. After tea Jack and Bhatiya (25) were building their partnership and momentum was swinging our way but losing the next 5 wickets for 24 runs did not help our cause to have us reeling at 6-123. Fortunately, Jack was still In and anchoring the innings and decided to up the ante with some smart batting along with some huge 6’s to compile an excellent 87. Together with Nish (18) at the end formed a nice partnership to take us to a very competitive total of 195.

The second week saw good conditions for our bowlers as it was overcast. Our start was a little inconsistent with Forest Hill off to a good start. It was the first two bowling changes of Mick and Nish who both picked up crucial wickets each just prior to the rain delay which gave us great momentum. After the delay, Mick was able to breakthrough again and see the back of their most damaging batsman. Matt Hale was re-introduced back into the attack and picked up another key wicket of their captain to have them 5-121 to make the game even more interesting. Forest Hill then put on a 50 run partnership and victory looked to be slipping out of our grasp as they only needed 27 runs with 5 wickets in hand off 11 overs. It was then both our off-spinners Darsh (22.1-7-40-2) and Nish (26-9-44-4) who all day with excellent tight pressure bowling fittingly brought upon a collapse to have them all out for 180. It was a great victory and we have now beaten the top 2 teams and we aim to have a few more wins prior to Christmas.

2ND XI

BTCC 5/150 def Forest Hill 134 at Forest Hill Reserve.

D Pius 72*, M Cassidy 50, T Arnold 4/25, C Burridge 2/12

The 2XI headed out to Forest Hill in what would be Mitch Cassidy’s 150th match for the Club. We lost the toss but bowled and fielded with discipline to take wickets at regular intervals. Chance Burridge bowled 22 overs without a break from one end to finish with figures of 2/12 (22). Jeremy, Mitch and Kristan all bowled well also and we kept Forest Hill’s run rate to less than 2 runs per over for the entire innings on a very quick and small ground. We saved Tim Arnold until the 53rd over to come on and he tore through the middle and lower order to finish up with figures of 4/25. FHCC ended up with 134 which was a very gettable target if we batted well.

We arrived at Forest Hill on Day 2 and were met with overcast conditions and the field much more lush than the previous week (the Council must have missed the memo to cut the grass!). We lost both Haikals relatively early and were in a precarious position at 2/12, before Dom and Mitch put on a partnership of around 110 to guide us to within 10 runs of victory. Dom rode his luck and finished with 72* and Mitch batted very well to score 50 in his 150th game for BTCC. We ended up passing their score 3 wickets down with around 30 overs to spare. We were more disciplined with the ball, took our chances in the field, batted sensibly and generally outplayed our opposition in all aspects of the game. A well-deserved win… let’s just hope all our players have been registered properly…

R6 – The momentum we have shown over the last 5 weeks has continued with a comprehensive victory against Wyclif (3/235 v 94). Our second win on the trot was again underpinned by our “team first mentality”. Having won the toss and electing to bat, we posted a very handy total of 3/235, with Jade Rawlings in imperious form striking a great 101 retired, more than ably backed up Dave Sticca (70no) and in his comeback, Josh Sticca making 32no – a highlight being their manic running between the wickets, taking 67 off the last 10 overs. Of note is the last 162 runs coming without loss. Again, our bowlers were magnificent – led by Nick Paolucci. Handed the new ball for the first time, he had a wicket with the second ball of the day, and in great partnership with his opening partner, Guy Senanayake, had Wyclif in desperate trouble at 4/17, then 5/36. Both bowled an extremely tight line, bending the ball towards slips at will, gaining the edge many times, affording us the luxury of 2 slips and at times a fly slip……… Nick finished with 4/35 off 12, in his best spell in the Seniors. Both Josh’s (Sticca and Briffa) bowled well, with the tail cleaned up by Jade in his first overs of the season, with Wyclif being all out for 94. Again, the highlight was our team ethos, with zippy fielding, conceding no overthrows or misfields for the third game in a row, and vice like catching. A hearty congratulations to the team!

4TH XI

BTCC 228 def by Box Hill North Super Kings 8/298 at Elgar Park.

L Pataki 59, M Leggio 48, M Allsop 36, B WIlmott 36, D McClean 4/47

R6 – The 4th XI played away vs Box Hill North Super Kings (BHNSK) at Elgar Park. Our opposition posted a huge score of 8/298 from their 64 overs. Their openers got them off to a good start adding 146 for the 1st wicket. Our bowlers fought back well, with Dave McClean (4/47) the stand out performer. In the field Dean Tulloch was a ball magnet taking 4 catches. Our openers got off to a solid start, putting on 102 for the 1st wicket. Mark Allsop (36) and Les Pataki (59) set the foundation for a valiant run chase. Brett Willmott (36) and Matt Leggio (48) put on 87 for the 3rd wicket, but the opposition were very disciplined with their bowling and took wickets regularly to dismiss us for 228.

VETS

BTCC 8/171 def by Templestowe 8/176 at Templestowe Reserve.

S Mayne 40rtno, M Vogels 32, S Boyd 3/21, M Vogels 2/31

After losing the toss and Templestowe electing to bat, we opened up our account in the first over with Scott Boyd delivering a great out swinging ball to their former Captain and mouthpiece R. Harford dismissing him for 4 runs caught behind by Juice. What a start! Our opening bowlers certainly did the trick with a great spell of bowling. Scott Boyd completing his spell with 3/21 after 6 overs while Matt Vogels delivered an unplayable ball dismissing their gun striker J. Tsiotinas LBW for a golden duck.At the drink break we had Templestowe 5/65 from 18 overs. Two more great spells of bowling coming from Dean Tulloch and Steve Mayne capturing a wicket each for 21 & 24 runs respectively.After the drinks break things started to turn in their favor! Unfortunately for us, their batsmen got the better of us in the remaining overs and managed to forge a total of 176 after 36 overs. One thing about batting second, apart from score board pressure, is we know what we have to do. We know what run rate is required. With that in mind we set about our campaign. Opening the batting was our ever reliable Steven “May Day” Mayne and Ben “Tugger” Wolnizer.One down, that ok, we can ramp this up, or so I thought!. Needless to say we hit a bit of a slump through the middle. If it weren’t for the man of the match Steve “May Day” Mayne retiring 40 not out, Matt Vogels 32 runs then unfortunately being run out while trying to lift the run rate and a great effort by Dean Tulloch hitting 29 off 19 balls our day would have been over much earlier. When Dean went out our score was 166. We only needed 11 runs albeit with 4 balls left in the innings. With Matt “Sleggio” Leggio and Juice at the crease, they certainly gave it everything managing to get 5 runs in tight circumstances. A great effort by the boys to get back from a 12 runs per over rate at one stage to almost snatching a gallant victory.